45 Best Sights in The Southern Andes and Lake Titicaca, Peru

One of the peninsulas that form the bay of Puno, Llachon juts out on the lake near Amantani and Taquile.

The land is dry and barren with rows of pre-Inca terraces, and original ancient paths and trails, which are great for exploring.

Locals are more than willing to guide visitors on a light trek to Cerro Auki Carus. Here a circular temple remains the sacred place for villagers to honor the Pachamama (Mother Earth). As the highest point on the peninsula, Cerro Auki Carus serves as an excellent viewpoint to admire the splendor of Lake Titicaca. You can venture out yourself from the port in Puno via water colectivo and then arrange a homestay once in Llachon, or for slightly more money, you can have a tour operator arrange the accommodations for you. By land back from Puno it's about two to three hours. Llachon is also a great place to kayak. Cusco-based Explorandes as well as Edgar Adventures offer kayak excursions around here.

This jam-packed collection of shops sells everything from snacks and local produce to clothing and household goods. It's an excellent place geared more to locals than tourists so you can spot rare types of potatoes, sample queso helado (ice cream), or eat chicharrones. It's on Calle San Camilo, between Avenidas Peru and Piérola.

One of Puno's three viewpoints offers fantastic views of the lake from a platform where a statue of a condor spreads its wings wide (it's also commonly known as Mirador El Condor). The views are worth all of the 625 breathtaking steps to the top, especially at sunset.

Perched on a hilltop in the town's northern Alto Puno neighborhood, this park is fun for kids and a great scenic spot for everyone. As it's the only mirador that's not reachable on foot from the town, most guided tours to Sillustani stop here along the way to let people take a few pictures with the giant 26-foot-tall puma statue that prowls above the city and Lake Titicaca's shore. A tunnel ending with two snake heads surrounds the statue. It can be fiercely cold when it rains and extremely hot under the high-altitude sun, so come prepared.

There's a colorful story behind the area's first stone molino (mill), 7 km (4 miles) southeast of Arequipa. Built in 1621 in the gorgeous Paucarpata countryside, the mill fell into ruin over the next century. Famous architect Luis Felipe Calle was restoring the Arequipa mansion that now houses the Central Reserve Bank in 1966 when he was asked to work on the mill project. By 1973, the restoration of the volcanic-stone structure was complete, and Calle liked the new version so much that he bought it, got it working again, and opened it for tours. Bring your swimsuit and walking shoes in good weather—there's a pool and trails amid the lovely countryside. Adjoining the site is the traditional village of Yumina, which has numerous Inca agricultural terraces. If you're not driving, flag a taxi for S/25–S/30 or take a colectivo (shared taxi) from Socabaya in Arequipa to about 2 km (1 mile) past Paucarpata.

With a solid collection of Indigenous pottery and textiles, human-sacrificed bones, and gold and silver offerings from Inca times, this archaeology museum at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín provides insight into local archaeology and ruins.

An exhibit of 501 gold pieces called the "Great Treasure of Sillustani" has helped to make this one of the most important regional archaeological museums in southern Peru. The intimate museum is named for famed Puno painter and antiques collector Carlos Dreyer Spohr, whose oil-on-canvas works you can view here, in addition to exploring exhibits of pre-Hispanic and colonial art, weavings, silver, copper works, delicate Aymara pottery, pre-Inca stone sculptures, and historical Spanish documents on the founding of Puno. Plan to spend about an hour here.

A hidden gem, this museum pays tribute to the infamous coca leaf and Peruvian folklore. The quaint museum includes a folklore exhibit as well as everything you'd ever want to know about the coca leaf. Presented in English and Spanish, displays are well constructed with educational videos and photographs. The mission is not to promote coca but merely to share the plant's history and culture. The folklore exhibit displays elaborately constructed costumes worn during festivals and shares the history behind the dances. Visit the store and purchase some coca-based products or have your future read in the leaves.

Several types of South American camelids thrive at this vast nature reserve of desert, grass, and flamingo-filled lakes. Indeed, you might see herds of beige-and-white vicuñas, llamas, and alpacas all grazing together on the sparse plant life of its open fields. Wear good walking shoes for the uneven terrain, and bring binoculars. Also bring a hat, sunscreen, and a warm jacket, as the park sits at a crisp 3,900 meters (12,795 feet). The reserve is 35 km (22 miles) north of Arequipa, just beyond volcano El Misti. If you're headed to Colca Canyon or Puno from Arequipa, you have to pass through the reserve to get there, but tours really just rush through the area, stopping only at the Laguna de Pampa Blanca for a glimpse of wild vicuñas. If you hire private transport, you can visit the cave paintings at Sumbay and spend some time to properly hike across this barren expanse. The Toccra interpretation center, with detailed information in English and Spanish on the area's flora and fauna, is located 2½ hours from Arequipa and is open to the public from 9 to 4.

The main attraction in the small lakeside town of Pomata is this church, built of pink granite in the 18th century and containing paintings from the Cusco School and the Flemish School. Its Mestizo-baroque carvings and translucent alabaster windows are spectacular, and the altars are covered in gold leaf. Pomata is also famous for fine pottery, especially for its toritos de Pucará (bull figures).

High on a hauntingly beautiful peninsula in Lake Umayo is the necropolis of Sillustani, where 28 stone burial towers represent a city of the dead that both predated and coincided with the Inca empire. The proper name for a tower is ayawasi (home of the dead), but they're generally referred to as chullpas, which are actually the shrouds used to cover the mummies inside. This was the land of the Aymara-speaking Colla people, and the precision of their masonry rivals that of the Inca. Sillustani's mystique is heightened by the view it provides over Lake Umayo and its mesa-shaped island, El Sombrero, as well as by the utter silence that prevails, broken only by the wind over the water and the cries of lake birds.

Most of the chullpas date from the 14th and 15th centuries, but some were erected as early as AD 900. The tallest, known as the Lizard because of a carving on one of its massive stones, has a circumference of 8.5 meters (28 feet). An unusual architectural aspect of the chullpas is that the circumference is smaller at the bottom than the top. To fully appreciate Sillustani, it's necessary to make the long climb to the top; fortunately, the steps are wide, and it's an easy climb. Some schoolchildren will put on dances. If you take photos of mothers and children and pet alpacas, a donation of a few soles will be appreciated.

Better known as the Temple of Fertility or Temple of the Phallus, this structure doesn't quite meet the dictionary's description of a temple as a stately edifice. Rather, it's an outdoor area surrounded by pre-Inca and Inca-made stone walls that block the view of a "garden" of anatomically correct phallic stone sculptures. Each 1-meter (3-foot) penis statue points toward the sky at the Inca sun god or toward the ground at Pachamama (Mother Earth). From ancient times through today, this site has been visited by women who sit for hours on the little statues believing that doing so will increase their fertility. Don't miss this curious detail: turn toward the left side of the enclosure and look up at the top of Santo Domingo church's bell tower—it has a phallus, instead of a cross, perched on its very top.

Toro Muerto is the world's largest petroglyph field, where hundreds of volcanic rocks are thought to have been painted more than 1,000 years ago by the Huari (or Wari) culture. There are sketches of pumas, llamas, guanacos, and condors, as well as warriors and dancers. Head higher for expansive views of the desert. It's hot and windy, so bring water, a hat, and sunglasses. Toro Muerto is 164 km (102 miles) northwest of Arequipa, and, unless you are driving, guided tours are the most effective way to visit in a day.

About a half-hour drive from Arequipa, this serene little town is settled in the western foothills of the Volcán Chachani. Take the road 27 km (17 miles) farther to reach rustic thermal baths, where you can take a dip in naturally heated water that ranges from 70°F to 82°F. You can soak in any weather and enjoy a picnic along the river in summertime. Admission to the hot springs is S/5, and they're open daily from 8 to 3. From the old Arequipa train station, there's bus service to Yura, which takes close to an hour and costs S/5.